What Is Love?
by Phantom Misfit
Summary: Follow Danny and Sam on their life's journey, from friendship to something more, as they discover just what love is. DxS


**What is love?**

"Danny, what is love?"

His head whipped around, mouth agape. "Um, what?"

"What's love?" Her eyes were absent as she lounged on her stomach on the bed, hand tucked under her chin as she mused. "I mean, what's it mean to really be in love? I know people are always claiming to have found it, or be in it, but who really knows?"

He worried his lip. "I mean, I think my parents have it. They're nearly complete opposites – she's a genius, and he's a bumbler, but they've been together after all these years. Even in the alternate timeline, my dad never stopped loving my mom and vice versa, even after all of Vlad's scheming to keep them apart."

She smiled. "That's really sweet."

He rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassed. "What do you think it is? Do you think your parents have it?"

Her smile drooped. "I don't know. I think they like each other, they have the same interests, but I've never seen them act affectionate with each other. And affection has to be there, or else you're just living with a roommate, you know?"

"Yeah, I do." He smiled. "What about that spell Ember put me under? Does that count as love?"

She shook her head almost vehemently. "Oh, no, that wasn't a _real_ love spell – that was a puppy love spell. If I had to live with that for the rest of my life I'd scream."

He chuckled. "The honeymoon phase not your thing?"

"Uh, yeah, no. But you should know that about me by now." She sighed. "That's a part of love, I suppose, but I just wonder what makes people stay for the long haul, you know?"

He nodded. "Yeah, I do. Maybe, someday someone will show that kind of love to you." _Maybe me._

She smiled, if a bit sadly. "Here's hoping."

**What is love?**

_**Love is comfort.**_

"Oh, God, Danny," She sobbed in his arms, burying her face in his chest as she cried. "It was so sudden. We didn't even see it coming."

His arms tightened around her, chin resting on her head. "It's okay, Sam, it's okay."

"No, it's not!" She wailed. "She's gone! I'll never be able to talk to her again, to hug her, to tell her how much I love her…" She collapsed into more tears, nails digging into his shoulders as they racked her body.

"Don't you think she knew you loved her?" He mumbled against her hair, hoping he wasn't going to get screamed at for his efforts at trying to make her feel better. "Your grandma was a wonderful person, and she loved you, too. You asked me once what love was. I think part of it is loving someone even if they aren't there – keeping their memory in your heart."

She sniffed. "That's really cheesy, Danny."

He smiled against her hair. "I know."

"I just don't feel like it's _enough_. She was there for me, every day of my life, even when my parents weren't. She basically raised me, and now I just feel so helpless without her. And I know it's so selfish, but I don't know what I'm going to do without her."

"She wouldn't have done all those things for you if she didn't want to, you know that. She did them because she loved you, and the amount of mourning you do isn't going to somehow repay her – just keep her in your heart."

"You're really good for me, you know that?" She asked drowsily against his chest.

"I hope so."

**What is love?**

_**Love is friendship.**_

"So, how was your date?" Danny asked, jealousy eating him up from the inside.

"Ugh, awful." Sam groused. "We broke up."

"Wait, what?!" Danny asked, surprised. "What happened?"

"He was pushing me for sex, and I got sick of it."

"WHAT?!" Danny stood, fists clenched, eyes flashing green in anger. "I'll kill him!"

"Oh, calm down," Sam rolled her eyes and pulled him so he was sitting back down. "I'm fine, Danny, you know I can handle myself."

"What did he do?" Danny asked furiously.

"He tried guilting me, telling me if I was his girlfriend and loved him I'd want to do it for him." Her eyes rolled again. "How romantic. Unfortunately for him, I had never claimed to love him and told him so, at which point he called me a cold fish and stormed out." She chuckled. "Because if I don't want to sleep with him, I obviously must be a cold fish or a lesbian. Jackass."

Danny's face was red with fury, but he tried to calm himself down for Sam's sake. "I'm so sorry, Sam."

She waved her hand in a pfhht! motion. "It's no big, Danny. It's just…disappointing, I guess is the word. Obviously intimacy is important to relationships, but it's not the only thing that's important. There has to be affection, friendship…" Their eyes met and cheeks flushed. "I want to be able to say I'm in love with my best friend."

The tension was as thick as Danny's throat when he said, "Well, someone once said that love is just friendship on fire."

And with that the tension was broken as he made his best friend smile and say, "You're absolutely right."

**What is love?**

_**Love is worry.**_

They were just hanging out, the trio in their natural habitat, when the familiar blue smoke wafted out of his mouth and his eyes went from relaxed to alert.

Sam groaned, flopping back on the bed. "We just went on patrol! How late do these ghosts stay up? Don't they have to sleep?"

"Maybe some of them are nocturnal," Tucker suggested. "Maybe I can do some research on it."

"Well, whatever it is, it needs my attention." Danny sighed, standing up. The familiar white rings flashed at his torso, going in opposite directions, turning him into Danny Phantom. "Look, it's late and I should have been home a while ago anyway. Wanna call it a night?"

"Yeah, I guess." Tucker sighed. "I have a new videogame I've wanted to try out, anyway."

Sam looked at him, worry in her eyes. "What if you get hurt?"

"Then I'll come back and have you patch me up while grumbling about how you don't get enough sleep." Danny grinned. "Seriously, Sam, don't worry. Most of the ghosts at this time of night are harmless. Just go to sleep, if I need your help I'll come back."

Her lips tightened. "Alright."

With a two-fingered salute, he was off.

…

As he predicted, the ghost was an easy one to suck into the thermos, but the hard part was catching him. He was quick, darting around at random and hiding in the shadows, knowing it wasn't powerful enough to take on Danny but not wanting to get back to the Ghost Zone. Danny finally cornered it and was able to catch it, wincing at the high pitched squeal it emitted as it was sucked into the blue vortex.

Capping the thermos, Danny decided to make sure his friends got home okay. He stopped off at Tucker's first, noting with satisfaction that his friend was tucked into bed with his hazmat symbol pajamas on, curled around his teddy bear. He then went to check on Sam.

He phased through the window and frowned. She was still dressed in her street clothes, the lights still on, a book on her chest as she lay snoring lightly. When he touched down on her carpeted floor she stirred, violet eyes blinking sleepily.

"Did you wait up for me?" He asked disapprovingly, folding his arms. "You've been exhausted all day after that poetry slam last night! Why didn't you just go to bed?"

"Jus' wanted to make sure you were a'kay," She mumbled, eyes drooping with tiredness.

His heart melted. "Well, I'm fine, as you can see." He tried to be stern, but his hands were gentle as he pulled the covers over her body and flicked off the light. "Night, Sam."

**What is love?**

_**Love is care.**_

"Come on, Sam, eat up."

"Nooo, I hate soup and it'll make my nose run even more." Her voice was scratchy and hoarse, cheeks and nose blotchy and red, her hair a certified bird's nest. The covers were up to her chin and Danny was sitting beside her, trying to coax her to eat the soup he had made.

"Come on, Sammykins," He cajoled, "It's vegetable soup! No meat, so you don't have to worry."

She glared at him, though the effect was ruined by the exhaustion in her eyes. "Just because I'm sick doesn't mean I can't pound you into the ground for calling me Sammykins. And what are you doing, anyway? Last time I was sick you didn't come over and treat me like an invalid."

"That's because your parents had an entire hospital staff to wait on you and to take the brunt of your temper. Now your parents are gone and I'm the lucky person stuck doing it." He smiled to let her know he was teasing.

"You do know that no one's forcing you to do this?" She wondered, shivering despite her fever. "You're going to probably get sick, too." But she begrudgingly took the spoonful of soup he was holding out to her.

"Well then, give me a kiss and make it worth getting sick." She almost choked on the soup, staring at him bug-eyed as he grinned. "You're fun to tease when you're too sick to hurt me."

She swallowed with a wince. "Yeah, well, I'm keeping a list of the crap you do so I can make up for it when I'm better."

"Count on it."

**What is love?**

_**Love is sacrifice.**_

"Daniel, did you really think that I'd let you have what I've fought my whole life for?" Vlad's smile wasn't smug or suave, it was psychotic. He'd finally teetered over the edge of oblivion.

"Sam has nothing to do with this. Let her go." His voice was low, drenched with fury.

"Oh, but she has everything to do with this." He stroked her hair as she trembled, violet eyes fearful. "I know what you did, Daniel."

He frowned. "What did I do?"

"You thought I wouldn't remember? Of course I remember! Everyone else didn't realize it was an alternate timeline, but I did, because I'm a ghost, too." He sneered. "You stupid boy. By screwing up the timeline you gave me the perfect life, and you have the NERVE of taking it away!" His fangs were bared and he squeezed Sam harder, making her squeak. "Why do you think I hated ghosts in the other timeline, hmm? Because I _knew_. I knew what I could have been, what your idiot father could have turned me into. You took away MY PERFECT LIFE!" Blood spurted out of Sam's arm and she screamed in pain.

"STOP!" Danny shouted fearfully, taking a step forward. Vlad's eyes were wild with grief and he took a step back, taking the girl with him. "Are you seriously talking about when you had Ecto-Acne? I was trying to _cure _you, even of your ghost powers!"

"And you did a _fantastic_ job." Vlad smiled. "Now do it again."

"What?" Danny's jaw dropped open. "That's insane! Clockwork would never-"

"I. AM. NOT. INSANE." The half ghost screamed the words, eyes filled with fire. Sam took the opportunity to wrench herself away from his iron grip and run.

"NO!" He shot a lethal ectoblast at her, the pink fire almost grinning with glee as it neared his target.

"_SAM!_" Danny jumped and moved to block the blast from her exposed back, sending an ectoblast Vlad's way in return. He heard a grunt of pain and then felt the blast slam into him, directly in the chest, and heard Sam scream his name. Before everything went black, all he felt was relief. _She's safe._

**What is love?**

_**Love is pain.**_

"Oh, God, Danny, please wake up." Tears dripped onto the thin hospital sheet that covered his too-still body. She clutched his hand as her shoulders shook. "This is all my fault."

The gentle _beep, beep, beep _of the heart monitor was the only sound to accompany her sobs.

Danny had been admitted to the hospital with severe burns and a blow to the chest, as well as whiplash. His family was frantic, not knowing who had done this to him or why. Sam and Tucker had saved his butt by claiming a ghost had attacked, which wasn't really a lie.

Vlad had been hurt, too, which was how Sam escaped. Danny's blast had been powerful, fueled by anger and worry for Sam, hitting Vlad and throwing him against the wall, unconscious. Danny had been hit at the same time, body thrown like a rag doll into Sam's because he'd blocked it from her. She'd been dizzy, but she'd dragged Danny up the Vlad's helicopter pad and hijacked a ride from said helicopter, hands shaking on the controls as she aimed for Amity Park Hospital a state away.

_He sacrificed himself for me, _Sam thought with a hiccupping sob. _ How can I ever repay him?_

All of a sudden she noticed the heart monitor's steady rhythm had increased. She looked up, her watery eyes latching onto Danny's hazy blue ones.

"Sam?" His voice was hoarse. "You're crying? What's wrong?"

She burst into tears.

**What is love?**

_**Love is healing.**_

"Oh, my chest is killing me." Danny groaned, holding a hand to it as he shuffled down the hospital hallway. "Can we go back to the room?"

"No, we have to get your strength up." Sam ordered, allowing him to lean on her, her arm around his waist.

"But Saa-am," He whined. "It huuurts."

"I know, Danny, I know."

"Why aren't you making sarcastic remarks about my manhood?" He questioned. "I kind of miss it."

"Because you're injured." She almost added _and it's my fault_, but knew it would just upset him.

"Well, I'm not complaining."

"You just did." She reminded him with a smile.

…

He was finally allowed to go home, but was still weak, being hit in the sternum and all. Sam tended to him every day, making sure not to smother him because she knew he hated when his mother and Jazz did it. She watched him grow in strength every day and was his personal cheerleader (although if you compared her to such a preppy creature she would murder you). His family watched fondly as she would come over day after day and help him walk without getting out of breath for longer amounts of time, and convince him to sleep when he needed to despite his protests that he needed to patrol. He got crankier as he got more bored, but he always lit up when she came to his room.

"I think you're up to speed, Danny," She commented as she watched him do a dozen push-ups without wheezing like he had done before. "I don't think you need my help anymore."

She didn't see the look of sadness settle on his face.

**What is love?**

_**Love is confessed.**_

"Sam, can you come over and help me?" His voice was hoarse, and she was already pulling on her boots. "I think I overdid it."

"I'll be there in five." She hung up, grabbed her jacket and ran downstairs. She jogged to Danny's house, worried about how bad he'd sounded. She hoped she hadn't pushed him today, but she'd been so excited to see him heal so quickly. She felt awful.

She knew his parents were down in the basement so she didn't bother to knock, just walked in and went up the stairs. She saw Danny lying up in bed, hand rubbing his chest as he cringed. "I'll get you an ice pack," She said, tugging off her jacket and tossing it on top of a chair.

She did so quickly, hating how in pain he was and being ashamed of how grateful she was that she hadn't been hit by it. Vlad had been furious and had intended to kill her. Thank God Danny was half ghost, or that shot would have killed him.

She went upstairs and sat beside him. He scooted down so that he was mostly laying down, only his head propped up on a few pillows. She laid the ice pack down on his chest and hurt when she saw him wince. "Pain or cold?"

"Both." He grunted.

"Okay, just let it sit a minute and it'll be numb." She started to turn to grab the water off the side of his bed but her hand slipped on the bed sheet and she slammed onto his chest.

"Oh my God!" She scrambled off of him, terrified she had hurt him terribly. When she saw he was merely looking at her, confused and not at all in pain, her eyebrows came together stormily. "Daniel Fenton!"

Suddenly he realized what the problem was and grinned sheepishly. "Uh, ouch?"

"You idiot! You made me come over here for _nothing?_" She stood, hands on her hips.

"No! I-" He sighed. His big blue puppy dog eyes looked at her. "I just wanted to be with you."

Now confused, she sat back down. "Danny, we're together all the time."

He bit his lip. "Not like this. Not just you and me, no Tucker, no ghosts, no pressure…"

She swallowed. "What are you saying?"

In response, he pulled her down to his level and kissed her.

**What is love?**

_**Love is commitment.**_

They'd been dating for a while, but it hadn't gotten more serious than that. No, they hadn't seen other people at the same time, either, so it was silently agreed upon that they were exclusive, but still, it would have been nice to have been asked.

Their dates had been sweet and romantic. After he'd kissed her that faithful day he'd asked her to the movies, just the two of them, and she teased him, saying, "As long as I don't have to play nurse all night."

They'd both been nervous and neither one could really remember what the movie was about, but they'd walked home hand-in-hand, and he'd kissed her again under the dim glow of the porch light.

The next time they went out for ice cream, but they were interrupted by a ghost. Sam was well aware because his ghost sense had gone from his mouth to hers, making her shiver with cold. He'd pulled away from her, looking murderous, and just about annihilated the Box Ghost for interrupting them. She just continued to eat her sundae, smiling at him when he came back mussed and sheepishly adorable.

They'd gone on more since, and it had been great, but sometimes she wished they talked about what they wanted out of this relationship instead of making it seem as though they were friends who occasionally went on dates.

Luckily for her, they had a psychic connection, and he wanted the same thing.

He brought her to the top of a hill overlooking town, which a huge deciduous tree shading them.

"Sam, I _really_ like you, and I really hope you might consider…being my girlfriend." He pulled out the familiar gold and green ring with the name _Sam _engraved on it. She felt a little dizzy as he slid it on and looked at her a little unsurely. "Sam?"

She launched into his arms.

**What is love?**

_**Love is disagreement.**_

"You're killing yourself, Danny! You need to stop!"

"What, and let Amity Park be overrun by ghosts? How could you be so selfish?"

"Is it selfish to want time with your boyfriend of three years and not have to deal with a ghost every time we go out?!"

Their faces were red and the shouting match was getting louder. They would never be a quiet couple who hid their feelings or put up a front for their friends. Their emotions were raw and would come out in the loudest way possible.

"I can't just leave them to wreak havoc! Do you know how much easier life would be if I never had them?"

"Yeah, you would have had a boring, _normal _life where you'd have no fun, no adventure!" Sam yelled. God, hadn't he gotten over that whole _normal _dream years ago?

"Sometimes I think being able to relax is better than fighting ghosts 24/7 and then having to deal with my clingy, overprotective girlfriend!"

"Better overprotective than uncaring! These ghosts could _kill _you, Danny, and you've gotten so cocky with your powers that you don't even seem to care!"

"God, Sam, you're the one who gave me these powers in the first place! Do you know how much easier my life would have been without having them? Without having _met you?_"

She gasped, flinching back as if he'd slapped her. Her violet eyes went wide with hurt, where previously they'd been fiery with anger.

His eyes widened as he realized what he'd unrightfully said in his anger. "Oh, God, Sam, I didn't mean that-"

But it was too late. She was already running out the door.

**What is love?**

_**Love is forgiveness.**_

She sat crying on her bed, her mind filled with thoughts of the horrible things he'd shouted at her. Images of years before, wishing she'd never met him and having it actually happen, the horrible emptiness of her life without Danny knowing her. He'd even told her after all was said and done, when she'd fixed her egregious mistake, _"I never realized how different my life would have been if I hadn't met you. I gotta say, it's sorta cool to know." _

It wasn't just that he wished he hadn't met her, which she knew he didn't really mean. It was the fact that _she _was the one who had turned him into Danny Phantom, _she _who had half-killed her best friend, _she _who had set up his life for this stress and unwanted duty of heroism. With a sinking heart she realized how wrong she was. _God, why does he even like me? If I were him I would have stopped being his friend the minute I walked out of that portal._

He flew into her room as she knew he would and she collapsed, sobbing, into his arms. "I'm sorry, Danny, I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" He mumbled against her hair, holding her close and feeling an overwhelming surge of relief that she didn't completely hate him for what he said. "I was stupid, and angry, and said something I didn't mean. I should be apologizing to you."

She shook her head against his chest and pulled back to look at him through watery violet eyes. "No, it's not that. It's just that I never realized how badly I screwed up your life – I was the one that convinced you to go into that portal! I _killed _you! You never wanted this, any of this, and I forced you to do it out of my own damn pride and shame and…" She huddled into his chest and hiccupped. "It's no wonder you wish you never met me."

"Hey, hey." He tilted her head up with his fingers, hating the way she was dumping on herself. "Sam, don't you ever think that I blame you for my walking into that portal. Yes, you prodded me, but it was my two feet that walked inside, my hand that pushed the button. If I hadn't been curious about it in the first place, you couldn't have convinced me to set foot in there." He chuckled as she smiled wanly, wanting to believe him but not sure she could. "Yes, the work is hell, but it – _you _– have made me into what I am today. A hero." He kissed her damp lips. "This whole ride we've been on together? I wouldn't change it - not one bit."

**What is love?**

_**Love is till death do us part.**_

He proposed to her on the same hill he asked her to be his girlfriend, on the day of their fourth anniversary. His hands were shaking, he was so nervous. The little black box in his pocket contained the warm sapphire ring he knew she'd prefer over cold diamonds.

He'd been twitchy all afternoon and she finally called him on it. When he gulped and pulled out the ring she'd gasped. And when he asked her to marry him she'd launched into his arms like she had all those years ago, and all was right with the world.

The wedding plans were hell, especially with her mother, but they got through it. It was worth it as he watched her walk down the aisle and his heart stopped beating for that one precious moment of time. Then he'd lifted the veil from her face and she was glowing, her lips pulled into the happiest smile he'd ever seen from her, and all he wanted to do was sink into her embrace.

The standard vows went by quickly, both lost in each other's eyes, until the priest said, "I understand the couple wrote their own vows?"

They nodded and Sam went first. Hers was beautiful, told in her lilting voice, and it terrified him that his was too rough, not enough. But then it was his turn and he was swallowing around the rock in his throat.

"Sam, years ago you asked me what love was." Her eyes moistened. "How you wondered if you'd ever find someone who could show that kind of love to you. And here I am, in front of our family and friends and the eyes of God, promising to show you that kind of love for the rest of our lives. We have what's unexplainable, what even now I couldn't define: true love."

The rest was a blur as the priest pronounced them husband and wife and told him to kiss the bride. He did so, thoroughly, and had the congregation cheering.

**What is love?**

_**Love is passion.**_

He was as nervous as a bride on her wedding night.

Actually, that was more of Sam's thing. He was as nervous as a groom on his wedding night.

Ironically, they both were just that.

They had both wanted to wait until marriage – both of them being old fashioned. He gave her a class ring when they began dating, otherwise he considered them unofficial. She collected old records and played them on her grandmother's antique phonograph. So obviously they'd had no trouble waiting, because they felt it was the right thing to do.

But now they were completely clueless.

They looked at each other; the hotel room snuggled into the middle of Paris seeming to grow larger as they stared.

"This is ridiculous," Sam chuckled nervously, sitting down on the king-sized bed. "We've been dating for years, we shouldn't be this fidgety around each other."

"It's a big step," He reminded her, sitting beside her. "I'm just afraid I'm going to do something wrong."

"Danny, you couldn't possibly." She laid her hand on his cheek. "It'll be perfect."

"See, that's just it!" He jumped up and started pacing around the room. "You're expecting perfection, but what if I do something wrong? What if I hurt you?"

Sam smiled, brushing away his fears. "Danny, I'm not expecting perfection or anything close to it. No matter how much awkwardness or bumbling there is between us, myself included, it'll be perfect because I'm with you." She tugged on his hand as he passed by and forced him to sit down next to her. She kissed him, igniting the fire. "Don't worry."

And then his arms came around her and they were swept away.

**What is love?**

_**Love is compromise.**_

"Danny, would you throw your wet towels in the laundry basket?! For Pete's sake, it's like living with a pig."

"As soon as you buy whole milk along with your nasty soy milk!" He sing-songed back, nerves strung tight.

"Hey, that is a life decision! Yours is a hygiene habit that should really be changed." She grimaced as she tossed the damp towel into the washer and found him rooting around in the kitchen. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to find something unhealthy and preferably salty." He replied, growing frustrated as he looked through the cupboards, fridge, and freezer and finding only healthy food. "Sam, I can't eat this stuff! I'll turn into a rabbit!" He scowled at the frozen tofu burgers residing innocently in the freezer.

She put her hands on her hips. "Hey, you eat fast food! I can't count how many times you've have a Mighty Meaty Burger at the Nasty Burger and then tried to kiss me afterwards."

"Hey, it's not like you're the one eating the meat!" He shot back.

Sam rubbed her forehead as she felt a migraine coming on. "Danny, look. We're both a little stressed. I guess we didn't realize how hard it was going to be living together. We know each other's quirks, but we never had to live with them 24/7 before. Can we compromise?"

Danny immediately backed down, hackles lowering in the wake of his wife's pleading. "What do you propose?"

"How about we shop individually for our food, so I don't have to touch any meat and you don't have to mess with my tofu or wheat. We'll have our own sides of the freezer and fridge. And if you could, can you cook the meat outside so it doesn't permeate the house?"

Chagrined, Danny sat on the stool next to her and pulled her onto his lap. "Of course. And thank you for still letting me eat meat, I appreciate it."

"And I appreciate you agreeing to all this."

Pulling him into a kiss, she showed him just how appreciative she was.

**What is love?**

_**Love is family.**_

Two little pink lines.

She'd been sick lately, but thought some of her tofu burgers had gotten contaminated with Danny's regular ones. When it didn't stop after a few weeks, she decided just to check and make sure.

Two little pink lines.

It wasn't as if they weren't ready for it. They'd been married happily for a year, both secure in their jobs and their lifestyle. She just didn't think it would happen so soon.

Two little pink lines.

And when she showed Danny, he fainted.

They began to prepare. He fairly bubble wrapped the house and they painted the walls of the guest-room-turned-nursery. Yellow, of course, thought Sam did tease him about painting it black or dark purple. And of course she wasn't going to stick with traditional gender roles, so a gender-neutral yellow was chosen.

The pregnancy had gone fairly easy despite the morning sickness, but during labor it was the worst. She called him every name in the book and threatened bodily harm in many ways he was sure should be illegal. He let her squeeze his hand until he thought his bones might break and whispered soft assurances in her ear when she wasn't threatening to castrate him. Her face was flushed and sweaty and he felt horrible for doing this to her, but all that regret was wiped away when they set his newborn baby girls in his arms and she looked at him with her big blue eyes.

"Hey, Lilith." He whispered, completely and totally in love. "I'm your daddy."

**What is love?**

_**Love is exasperation.**_

"I hate you both!"

Danny and Sam winced as the door slammed loudly, almost rocking on its hinges. Sam glanced up at her husband, a smile twitching on her lips. "It never gets old, no matter how many times she says it."

Danny sighed and rubbed his head, sitting on a barstool for the island in the middle of the kitchen. "Why couldn't she have been an easy child?" He wondered. "Why did she have to take after her mother?"

"Hey!" She laughed and smacked him on the arm. "I seem to recall you sneaking out most nights in high school, too."

"Yeah, but that was to fight ghosts, not to party." He rolled his eyes.

"I also seem to recall you coming over to my house after fighting said ghosts, too."

He blushed, a feat for a man in his forties. "It's not like we _did _anything!"

She laughed and sat on his lap, looping her arms around his neck. "I know, I'm just teasing," She assured him. "I looked forward to those nights, just so I could see you with no one else around to bug us about our feelings for each other."

"Yeah," He sighed as he ran a hand down her back. "Me, too."

"Do you think she actually loves this boy?"

He rolled his eyes. "Of course she does, just like she loved Andrew and Jake and Ryan and-" She put a hand over his mouth to stifle his soon-to-be rant.

"I know, but sometimes I remember what it was like when I was dating you and my parents were so sure we were going to break up. I don't want her to feel like we're discouraging her from trying to find love."

"Lilith can find love when she's thirty five." Danny muttered darkly, making her laugh.

**What is love?**

_**Love is a helping hand.**_

Danny wheezed as he leaned against the wall with his hand, clutching his stomach with the other one. Spots danced in front of his eyes as he focused on breathing. _Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale._

"Danny!" His wife ran up to him as he switched from ghost to human in the blink of an eye. His body was scratched up, and he knew he'd have a large bruise tomorrow. "What happened?"

"Stomach…" He groaned. "Punched…_Hard…_"

"Oh, honey." She put her arm around his waist and moved his arm over his shoulders to balance him as he began to walk him home.

"I'm getting too old for this, Sam," He huffed, still trying to catch his breath. "Ten years ago a punch like that would've hurt, but not like _this_." He looked at her with tired blue eyes. "I don't know how much longer I can keep the ghosts at bay all by myself."

Her lips thinned with worry, but she directed him to bed to sleep it off, then left the room to make some phone calls.

…

"Honey, wake up."

Danny's eyes fluttered open and he looked up at his wife, who was smiling down on him, albeit a little sadly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I just…you were right, you _are _getting too old for this. And when you're gone, who will take care of the ghosts? I've been planning something for a while now, and I just put it into action."

Danny sat up, ignoring the pain in his chest. "What are you talking about?"

"I created a ghost hunting school in Amity Park!" She said it in a rush.

She explained how she'd had the idea a while ago, when he didn't seem to fight off ghosts as easily because of his age. His parents were well known in the country as expert ghost hunters, so people would flock to a school where they were the head teachers. And once a person got their masters in ghost fighting, they would join the Amity Park Police Force as special ghost hunting agents.

"Sam, that's…incredible." The look of worry slid off her face and she snuggled into him as he pulled her down to hug her. "I can't thank you enough."

"I was worried you'd be mad." She mumbled against his chest.

"No." He looked into her eyes. "I'm not so proud that I can't see my own shortcomings, Sam. Yes, I'm getting older and I can't keep up with a lot of these ghosts. This will be the perfect solution." His lips touched hers. "I adore you."

**What is love?**

_**Love is growing old together.**_

"I don't want to go." He was adamant.

"Danny, we're going to be late!"

"Good, then I don't have to go." He sniffed. "I hate going to the hospital. My heart is just fine, I just had a little trouble with it. It wasn't even a heart attack!"

Tears of frustration nearly started, but she swallowed them back. A sixty-year-old Sam Fenton knelt in front of her husband, who was determined to not go to his check up at the hospital after a heart attack scare. "Danny, I love you, and I want to keep loving you for as long as possible. If we don't go, that time may be shortened." She fit her hand to his and realized it was trembling. "I was so scared."

He looked at her and softened, stroking her cheek. "You know a little old thing like a faulty ticker isn't going to get Danny Phantom down, right?"

"You'll be full ghost if you don't go to your check up!" She argued.

He sighed, kissing her knuckles. "All right, if it will make you feel better."

She sighed shakily, a few stray tears sliding out. "I just love you so much. I don't know what I'd do without you or Lilith."

Emotion clogged his throat. Over forty years together and they still loved each other as much as the day they first met. Even more so, actually. "I know how you feel." He whispered. "But I'm not going anywhere for a long, long time. I promise."

**What is love?**

_**Love is forever.**_

It happened one morning.

He rolled over in bed, and even though she was beside him, he knew she wasn't really there.

He gasped, hands trembling as he checked for a pulse on her cold skin. Nothing.

The heart that had beat for him, for her family, had finally decided to rest after eighty three years.

He tried to think about how long she had lived, how happily. How she hadn't been killed by a ghost, or by sickness, but had gone peacefully in her sleep, beside her loving husband, as she'd hoped she would. But all he could feel was the hole in his heart that only she could fill.

His beautiful Lilith had steadied him at the funeral as he stood beside her grave. Her husband and children flanked him, all of them with tears in their eyes. They had loved their grandmother dearly, and her husband hadn't known a kinder woman.

_Samantha Manson_

_1990-2073_

_Beloved mother, wife, and daughter_

But oh, she'd been so much more. She'd been the light of his life, his rock, his soul mate.

No one was surprised when he followed her into the other world six months later, also having passed in his sleep. They didn't mourn nearly as much, because they knew it was what he'd want – to be with her.

She greeted him at the Gate – their decrepit bodies were gone to be replaced by healthy young adults. He could only feel overwhelming love and joy and peace as he collapsed into her arms, glad to be home at last.


End file.
